


Down with the sickness

by nishiki



Series: Thistle and Weeds [11]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Allison in Mom-Modus, Allison takes charge, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Caring Diego Hargreeves, Diego and Klaus bonding, Fluff, Gen, Passing Out, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Protective Luther Hargreeves, Sibling Bonding, Sick Character, Sick Diego Hargreeves, Sick Klaus Hargreeves, Sickfic, angst if you squint, mother hen Diego Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-02 13:51:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18812203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nishiki/pseuds/nishiki
Summary: They have been preparing for this mission for months but when Klaus suddenly falls ill that same night, Diego stays behind to take care of him.----------Can be read as stand-alone





	Down with the sickness

**September 2020**

 

He stared at the photo album in Klaus’ lap. Their father had never been a sentimentalist. Their father hadn't cared to take photos of his seven children - at least not the photos of the kind you would want to look at. Their father hadn't cared to get those photos then developed and put them neatly into a book. Their father had files on his seven children, documenting their developments - not a photo album full of snapshots.

That was how it began. And Diego knew it at that exact moment as he found his brother Klaus sitting on the sofa in the sitting room looking at the photos that their various nannies had taken before Mom came into the picture. She had taken great care of putting his thing together.

Klaus was sick.

He only looked at childhood photos when he was sick. _Really_ sick. That was his tell and they all knew it. He tried to deny it at first but the fever came around an hour later that same day. Mom was currently in maintenance and being worked on by Pogo and couldn't take care of her sick boy. So, the siblings found themselves in a pretty pickle. They had a mission scheduled this day and if they wouldn't go tonight, their window of opportunity would shut for at least two more months. Two more months in which those criminals would be free to abduct more of those poor teenage girls to sell them away into other countries.

»You can go. Really. I’m fine.« Klaus coughed as he curled into a small little ball on the sofa huddled under a blanket. Ben was visible to the rest of them but was flickering dramatically - a clear sign of Klaus’ energy being drained drastically from him.

»No … I’m not leaving you alone.« Diego sighed and looked at the rest of their siblings. Five looked decidedly impatient now while the rest of them had already geared up. Diego too was already wearing his combat suit. »You guys go and kick those guys’ asses for me, okay?«

»We could really need you there.« Vanya sighed.

»But he needs me more now.«

He hated it that he couldn't go and Klaus knew this. He felt his drowsy eyes digging into the back of his head. Diego had been so engrossed in that case. He had been so passionate about it and his desire to get those monsters so big. And now here he was, stuck with his sick brother.

He could only watch their siblings leave to get the job done while he slumped down on the sofa next to Klaus. He knew that his brother was quite touch-starved when he was sick and no matter where he would decide to sit, Klaus would soon be all over him. His baby brother had no concept of personal space on good days so Diego knew that he had just thrown himself to the wolves. He might as well get it over with right away.

»I’m sorry, Dee.« Klaus mumbled pitifully as he put his head on Diego’s shoulder and thus pretty much forced Diego to put his arm around his shoulders. Out of the corner of his eye, Diego could see Ben wave at him sympathetically before flickering out of existence. »I know how much this meant to you.«

»Shush.« Maybe he would have gone on that mission before that god-awful night at the docks. Maybe he would have gone on that mission instead of staying with Klaus had he not held his brother dead in his arms just months ago. Having him alive and breathing was still a miracle to Diego. »So where did you dig that old thing up?«

»Mom had it.« He mumbled as he turned the page of the album to a whole sleuth of early childhood photos of Number Four. Klaus had been adorable as a toddler. He, as his brother could definitely say this and deny it to any living creature at the same time until his dying day.

Klaus had been chubbier than all of them which was almost impossible to believe now when Klaus was not much more than skin and bones. He had always had those wild dark-brown curls that couldn't be tamed by anyone and those giant green eyes looking full of wonder into the world. Diego couldn't remember their early childhood that well but he remembered that he and Klaus had always stayed together and always been bathed together as well. He chuckled as he glanced down at the photos. Klaus, poor little toddler Klaus, had needed to wear thick glasses for one precious year between the ages of three and four. The moment they had turned four, he hadn't needed the glasses anymore as if by some miracle and only a few months after that, Klaus had discovered his powers just like the rest of them.

Diego might not remember much of that time but he remembered Klaus screaming his tiny lungs out in absolute terror day and night from that moment onwards. Getting him to calm down had almost been an impossible feat especially since no one had really known what he was screaming about. He remembered how he had once put his arms around Klaus and how his brother had then whispered into his ear that » _The man with the hole in his head won’t go away_ «.

Diego, not knowing what he meant, had parroted it back to their father and that was that. He remembered the confused look on Reginald’s face at first and then the absolute glee that had taken over those _cold dead eyes_.

»Do you still have the blanket?« Klaus muttered quietly, clearly sounding very much congested. He was always quite the baby when he was sick and that was why Diego allowed him to lean in closer. He would feel like a monster to withdraw from him now.

»What blanket?« Oh, he knew what his brother meant. Of course, he still had it. It was hidden away safely in his trunk by his bed.

»You know which one.« Klaus shrugged. »Sir Blankelot. Your cuddly blanket.« As if to show it to his brother, he returned to Diego’s page in the book. There he was, in all his tiny glory, a frown on his face and a blue and white cuddle blanket with a Kraken stitched into it in his hands - or more importantly in his mouth. Diego just laughed instead of being embarrassed about it. And why would he? He had been a baby, after all. They all had had some kind of cuddle toy back then.

»Of course, not.«

»Oh, you still have it, don't you?« Klaus laughed but before he could taunt him any further, a violent cough started to take over and Diego got up with a sigh.

»Come on, you big baby. Time to lie down now.« Klaus didn't even protest much as Diego helped him to lie down on the sofa. He seemed too weak to even lift his legs, so Diego helped him with it and then tucked him in securely and made sure his feet were sufficiently covered. He took the photobook from Klaus’ hands to put it down on the coffee table next to him instead. »Try to sleep a little. I’m gonna get you some tea and soup or something like this.«

»My hero.« Klaus mocked quietly.

Suffice it to say that Diego Hargreeves was certainly not the best person to take care of a sick sibling. He really wasn't. He had no experience in this field. He had no intuition. He was not like Mom. That he was lacking in this department had never been clearer than right then as he tried to get Klaus’ fever down a bit.

He had fallen asleep soon after Diego had helped him to lie down - even before his brother had any chance of feeding him canned-soup or tea. However, the longer he slept, the higher his fever was rising. Of course, the fear of Klaus dying had significantly lessened since they had realized that their brother seemed strangely resistant to death after his last fling with the grim reaper. That didn't change much, though. Diego still worried. He was, in fact, worried sick for his brother as he tried to get his fever down without much success. He felt tired as he sat down on the couch and pulled Klaus’ head on his lap. He had just exchanged the wet cloth on Klaus’ forehead and his curls were damp from sweat and the water dripping out of the cloth.

Diego caught himself how his thoughts were drifting back to the rest of their siblings and their mission. He really wanted to be there right now. He had been there every step of the way. Scouting the location, finding out the much-needed information about those assholes. First, he had heard of this group three months ago from Patch. One of the girls they had abducted had managed to escape somehow and ran straight to the police. The poor girl had died from her injuries before she had been able to tell them everything they needed to know. And so the Academy had gone to work. Even Klaus had been of help in this regard. He had managed to conjure up the spirit of the poor girl and got her to talk to him about everything that had happened.

He had been looking forward to getting those men and bring them to justice and now he was just staring at the old grandfather clock by the fireplace and watched the night tick-tick-tick away without any hope of still joining in on it.

Diego wasn’t angry though because, every time he looked at his brother now, he saw him lying in his own blood motionless. Maybe he was just growing soft with age. That was what he told himself as he took that photo album into his own hand and started filing through it next. It helped to forget how much time was ticking by.

»Why is this case so important to you?« Klaus’ mumbling startled him so much he almost fell from the sofa. He hadn't realized that his brother had woken up again but as he looked at Klaus now, he could see how his brother was studying him with feverish green eyes. Poor thing. Of course, he would never tell him that he had his pity. A quick glance at the clock told Diego that it was almost midnight now. Their siblings had been gone for almost three hours and Diego lost in his thoughts and the childhood photos. »I mean … I get it … They are assholes that need to be taken down but … You seem to have taken this so personal…«

Diego drove a hand through his hair and leaned back in his seat again. Neither one of them was uncomfortable by their closeness right now. Klaus’ little experiment with being dead had brought them closer together if anything. »I just hate people like these.« Diego shrugged. »People who take vulnerable girls or boys and sell them for their own personal gain. They are the worst scum that is out there and I can't stand the thought that there are so many others out there like this and so many girls and boys we won’t be able to help. I just-«

Klaus was a very perceptive young man. He had always been like this. The most empathetic of them all, the most sensitive, the most perceptive to the things left unspoken.

»You couldn't have protected me even if you would have tried, you know that, right?« Klaus mumbled and his eyes still didn't leave Diego's face. Unlike Diego himself, Klaus was not at all uncomfortable to speak about his past. He wouldn't openly address it in the presence of their siblings but they all knew the shit Klaus had experienced out there.

»I know.« Diego sighed. »But … When I heard of that group and saw that poor girl … I just couldn't get the thought out of my head that this could have been you.« He pinched the bridge of his nose. »This could have been you and none of us would have known it. We didn't care. _I_ didn't care. I mean … I _did_ care. I checked the police radio for you all the time, called hospitals and rehab facilities. But I didn't care enough to actually go and find you and pull you away from all this shit so that you would be safe.«

»Aww, you are such a sweetheart.« Klaus mocked gently and reached up to pat his cheek but missed horribly and almost jammed his fingers into Diego’s nostrils instead wouldn't he have seen that coming and swatted his hand away like an annoying fly. »But really, Dee … You wouldn't have been able to help me. No matter what you would have done. You could have dragged me out of those alleys by my beautiful luscious locks and tie me to your bed - which would have been creepy and weird - and it wouldn't have changed anything. I would have gone back out there again and I would have thrown myself at the dangers again.«

»I still can't get it out of my head.« Diego admitted quietly. He was glad that it was just the two of them right now. It had always been easy to be honest with Klaus. He didn't judge. He didn't mock. »Those things could have happened to my little bro and I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it because I wasn’t there and I hate that so much.«

»You are here now.« Klaus mumbled tiredly. He looked loopy and Diego could only hope that Klaus would have forgotten about their conversation soon.

»Yes« He huffed. »Alone with you - again. Well, someone has to take care of you, right?«

»You need a girlfriend, Bro. Or a boyfriend. Whatever floats your boat.«

»Is this an offer?«

»I’m way out of your league.« At least he still hadn't lost his humor. The day Klaus Hargreeves wouldn't make jokes anymore would be a bleak one and probably truly the end of the world.

»Go back to sleep, Kiddo.« Diego huffed as he ruffled through Klaus’ unruly curls. Klaus, however, was adamant to keep fighting against his tired body and the grip of Hypno who still held onto him tightly.

»You should better stay away, Dee.« He mumbled as his eyes were already dropping. »You’ll get infected too. I’m toxic. I have the plague.«

»Me?« Diego chuckled. »I never get sick. You know that. Unlike the rest of this family, I have a decent enough immune system to not fall ill at the slightest inconvenience. Don't worry about me, lil’ bro.«

Apparently, Klaus was too exhausted to even comment on the fact that they were the same age because the next thing Diego knew was Klaus falling asleep on him in a matter of seconds. Diego didn't even care if his siblings would later call him a softy for falling asleep next to his brother like this. He enjoyed being close to Klaus, he enjoyed taking care of his siblings. He was the unofficially crowned mother hen of the group and he liked that even though he was crap at actually taking care of any of them.

Of course, as he was shaken awake a little while later, as the morning sun was already carefully peeking through the curtains of the living room, he was confronted with a very amused looking Allison.

»You shouldn't sleep like that.« Vanya scolded gently from behind her sister. »You will get sick too.« But from her tone of voice Diego could tell that she understood why he stayed and appreciated that Diego didn't want to leave Klaus alone.

»I’m fine.« Diego replied but extracted himself from his brother nonetheless to slowly get to his feet. He felt a little dizzy but blamed the way he had been sitting on the sofa for it. »How did everything go?«

»Just as expected.« Luther replied. »Your plan worked perfectly.« It was meant as praise and Diego appreciated the effort. Luther and he were both not the type to hand out praise so easily. They hadn't been raised to do so. They had been raised to always compete, always see the enemy in the other person. That was just a sad truth about their upbringing and neither one of them could deny it. Whatever kind of brotherly bond they had these days, they had worked their asses off to achieve themselves.

»So the bad guys are behind bars?« Diego replied calmly as he clutched the armrest of the sofa for support before making a few more steps in the general direction of the doorway. He needed to move. He made it over to the doorway without much incident even though he could feel and see black blotches creeping up on him. There was an elephant sitting on his chest for no discernible reason and his brain was swimming in lukewarm jello.

»Are the girls free?« Even to his own ears, his words sounded slurred and before he even registered the shout tearing from Vanya's throat, the world was turning horizontal and blissful darkness embraced him once more.

※※※※※※※

It was concerning to see Diego Hargreeves sick. It was even more concerning to see Diego Hargreeves so sick that he passed out in front of all his siblings. Diego only very rarely got sick. This was just something that wouldn't happen that often. Luther remembered vividly how their father had forced them all to run track in the pouring rain for hours and how every single one of them had gotten sick after those exercises. Everyone except for Diego. He had the immune system of some weird alien god apparently and the lungs to match it. And yet, the moment Diego had suddenly started slurring his words in the middle of a sentence Luther had barely had enough time to lunge forward and catch his brother before his head could have slammed into the ground at full force.

»He’s burning up.« Allison sighed as she placed a hand on Diego’s forehead.

»Klaus too.« Vanya replied with concern written all over her face. Even Luther could tell that, if anything, Klaus had gotten worse in the last few hours and not better. He was mumbling incoherently, even though it was hard to even make out so quietly was his voice now.

»What do we do now?« Five, although being technically the oldest of them, seemed the most lost in how to deal with his feverish brothers.

»Mom is still in maintenance.« Luther trailed off. Diego wasn’t even heavy in his arms before he placed him on another sofa. Number Two only let out a small moan at being manhandled like this by his brother. Had he gotten infected by Klaus? So quickly? It was much more probable that Diego had infected Klaus and not even noticed how sick he really was himself. Had they taken him with them tonight … Fuck, everything might have gone haywire if Diego would have passed out on the job or not been able to focus enough.

Suddenly, it seemed like a godsend that Klaus had gotten sick so suddenly and thus forced Diego to stay home too.

»Oh, come on.« Allison turned to the rest of her rather helpless looking siblings. »Have you never had a proper cold and treated it yourself?« She didn't need confirmation from any of them to realize that they had all relied on Mom in this case. All except Vanya, certainly, but she didn't seem less helpless than her brothers. »I can't believe it.« Allison rolled her eyes. »Okay, since I am currently apparently the next best thing to Mom and the most qualified for the job, let me handle it. Luther, you go and bring down their mattresses.«

»What?« He could only gape at her in confusion as Allison was taking charge now. She seemed adamant the way she put her hands on her hips and stared the rest of her siblings down.

»Those sofas are not very comfortable for either one of them and do you guys want to run from room to room when checking on them?«

If she had hoped to ease their confusion, she only achieved the opposite as she was met with raised eyebrows by all of them next. Her siblings’ reaction caused only a long-suffering sigh from the movie star before she brushed her long hair out of her face.

»Okay, you remember that one time when we were eleven? We all got that nasty stomach bug. Even Diego. In fact, he got it the worst and gave it to Klaus because those two morons decided it would be a good idea to share an ice cream cone.«

Now that she said it, Luther, in fact, did remember it. Patient Zero, Diego Hargreeves. Diego had woken up that day with an upset stomach and when he had started feeling better later around lunchtime, Mom had given him an ice cream cone - his favorite kind even: chocolate and strawberry. He also remembered Klaus making puppy eyes at Diego, jealous of his ice and how Diego had never been able to tell their brother no. That same night, Klaus had been down with the flu and after him the entire rest of the siblings, starting with Ben. Diego had been the last to be beaten into submission but the first to actually get it.

»Mom was alone with us seven then. Dad was out on some field trip with Pogo. I remember that she put all our mattresses down here and pushed the sofas to the side. She acted as if this was just for the funzies, but when I asked her about it a few years later, she said that it had been much easier to take care of us seven like this and that she had realized early on that we would get better quicker when we were all together in the same spot. So, we are putting Diego and Klaus together in the same spot. We have an easier time to check on them down here and they can keep each other company. Plus we will be closer to the kitchen to bring them tea and soup.«

»Isn't this counterproductive? Shouldn't we … quarantine them?« Five chimed up. His face was that of a skeptic talking to a voodoo priest about the flying spaghetti monster.

»They don't have the bubonic plague, Five. They have a cold.« Allison huffed. »They can't infect each other anymore. Only us if anything. So don't forget to wash your hands.«

Luther was sure that it wasn't that easy but who was he to argue with a mother? Even Five, though skeptical of the plan, seemed to accept it before he blinked away to get what he thought they would need.

Not even an hour later everything was set up. They had pushed the sofas to the side to make room for both mattresses in the middle of the room. A nice fire was going in the marble fireplace and filled the room with warmth. Klaus and Diego were both resting on their makeshift camp beds on the ground after the rest of their siblings had had the duty to not only put them to bed but also redress both of them. Not only had Diego already been wearing his combat suit before he had resumed his babysitter duty, but he had also sweated through the thick material just like Klaus had sweated through his clothes. The duty to dress their brothers in comfortable sleepwear had been placed on Five and Luther, of course, while the ladies had taken care of everything else.

Luther was bone-tired as he sat in one of the armchairs at a comfortable distance from the two sick men in the room while Allison and Vanya were preparing breakfast and chicken soup. Five was probably raiding the nearest pharmacy. He could already imagine how Five was shouting at some poor pharmacist about all the drugs he needed for his brothers after consulting some ancient book about the proper treatment of a common cold first. Hopefully, Five would not return with leeches.

Diego and Klaus almost looked innocent the way they were sleeping. Twice, Luther had needed to walk over to replace the wet cloth on Klaus’ forehead because his brother insisted on twisting and turning in his sleep. He seemed to have calmed down a bit though after he had reached the edge of his mattress and was no currently closer to Diego’s bed. Maybe Allison had been onto something, Luther thought as he watched the two while trying not to fall asleep himself. Klaus had always done a little better with one of them around - especially Diego and Ben, of course.

His eyelids were drooping dangerously as Diego gave a pained little moan from his spot on the ground. He watched how his brother’s eyes opened to slowly blink back to life followed by another pitiful little groan of utter discomfort. »I think I’m gonna die.« Diego moaned, unaware of Luther’s presence in the room or otherwise he would have never said that.

Before Luther could even sit up straight or say anything to inform Diego of his presence so that Diego could be saved from any further embarrassment, another voice spoke up softly and startled them both to their cores.

»I told you, you would get infected…« Klaus had his eyes still closed as he spoke but he sounded very much awake as he turned over on his side again, allowing the wet cloth to slip from his forehead once more, and pushed his forehead into Diego’s shoulder gently.

»You are both idiots.« Luther sighed, startling at least Diego while Klaus didn't react at all. He wouldn't put it past Number Four that he had been awake the entire time but too lazy to actually open his eyes. »I hope you know that.«


End file.
